How to create the syscfg.txt?

J

john2095

New Member
Joined
May 20, 2014
Messages
5
Reaction score
0
Country
Australia
Hi, new camera with a new "sandisk ultra 16GB" memory card. It records just fine but there is no "syscfg.txt" file on the card and I can't seem to make it create one. When I copy/create one manually it is ignored - I change settings but the changes aren't reflected in the camera's actions. Yes, the file is ASCII encoded.

To create the syscfg.txt I've tried holding down the "M" button then pressing the power button and holding/waiting for the 3 red flashes and power off, as well as various variations of that theme but have been wholly unsuccessful at getting it to create a syscfg.txt onto the drive.

So whilst we're at it: is the name of the file case sensitive? I've tried SYSCFG.TXT, syscfg.txt, SYSCFG.txt with no discernible change in results. I've tried both FAT and exFAT.

I'm on OS X and have tried the 'mobiusmanager.app' but it needs a syscfg.txt to get started; i've copied one off the web and edited the last two lines to match my firmware, and saved and unmounted... still doesn't seem to react to my config. I might add I've tried firmware versions 1.13 and 1.20 without any change in results. Man I've wasted hours trying to this thing to behave.

So the primary question at this point is to ask if I'm doing the right thing in order to have it write the syscfg.txt when there is none, what I am doing is:

1) turn it on (some flashing thence steady yellow light)
2) hold down the "M" button (yellow light turns to steady blue light)
3) hold down the power button (steady blue light - nothing happens for... 30 seconds then finally a little triple red flash peeks out from behind the blue... then all the lights go out and it appears to be off).
4) release both buttons
5) plug in the usb cable connected to an iMac (OSX mavericks)
6) open Finder and go to the disk
7) no syscfg.txt

There I see all that mac crap... ".fseventsd" folder, ".Spotlight-V100" folder, ".Trashes" folder. If I have hit record at some point since reformatting there is a "DCIM" folder with some .MOV's down there.

But there is never ever no matter what I try a "SYSCFG.TXT" file. And if I put one there manually (via VIM or via the mac app - making sure it is indeed ascii) it gets ignored.

How do I get it to dump this stupid file!?
Thence pay attention to it's contents?
 
john2095 said:
Hi, new camera with a new "sandisk ultra 16GB" memory card. It records just fine but there is no "syscfg.txt" file on the card and I can't seem to make it create one. When I copy/create one manually it is ignored - I change settings but the changes aren't reflected in the camera's actions. Yes, the file is ASCII encoded.

To create the syscfg.txt I've tried holding down the "M" button then pressing the power button and holding/waiting for the 3 red flashes and power off, as well as various variations of that theme but have been wholly unsuccessful at getting it to create a syscfg.txt onto the drive.

So whilst we're at it: is the name of the file case sensitive? I've tried SYSCFG.TXT, syscfg.txt, SYSCFG.txt with no discernible change in results. I've tried both FAT and exFAT.

I'm on OS X and have tried the 'mobiusmanager.app' but it needs a syscfg.txt to get started; i've copied one off the web and edited the last two lines to match my firmware, and saved and unmounted... still doesn't seem to react to my config. I might add I've tried firmware versions 1.13 and 1.20 without any change in results. Man I've wasted hours trying to this thing to behave.

So the primary question at this point is to ask if I'm doing the right thing in order to have it write the syscfg.txt when there is none, what I am doing is:

1) turn it on (some flashing thence steady yellow light)
2) hold down the "M" button (yellow light turns to steady blue light)
3) hold down the power button (steady blue light - nothing happens for... 30 seconds then finally a little triple red flash peeks out from behind the blue... then all the lights go out and it appears to be off).
4) release both buttons
5) plug in the usb cable connected to an iMac (OSX mavericks)
6) open Finder and go to the disk
7) no syscfg.txt

There I see all that mac crap... ".fseventsd" folder, ".Spotlight-V100" folder, ".Trashes" folder. If I have hit record at some point since reformatting there is a "DCIM" folder with some .MOV's down there.

But there is never ever no matter what I try a "SYSCFG.TXT" file. And if I put one there manually (via VIM or via the mac app - making sure it is indeed ascii) it gets ignored.

How do I get it to dump this stupid file!?
Thence pay attention to it's contents?
Click to expand...
Ignore #1 and you'll be all set! You can't create the file if the camera is already turned on.
If there is still no file then try a different card. I assume your card is not full and has been properly formatted using SDFormatter (if a version exists for the Mac).
 
Praise the Lord! Doh. Awesome. Finally! Thank You. It creates the syscfg.txt. I was mixing up the instructions for "In-camera formatting" and "Camera Setup". The former starts "connect to USB", the latter "Disconnect and power off". My bad.

Answer to the upper/lower case question is: all uppercase: "SYSCFG.TXT" - but it probably isn't case sensitive.
 
Now how do I get it to respect an altered SYSCFG.TXT?

Note for others: you have to REPEAT THE PROCESS to load the syscfg.txt - just having it in the root directory is not enough - it's not just automatically detected and loaded. RFTM ;-) So those steps again:

1) turn it off
2) hold down mode ("M") button and Power button until the red flickers 3 times - (won't take more than 5-10 seconds)

If you then hook it up to a pc the syscfg.txt file should be gone. If it's not then it didn't work.
 
john2095 said:
Now how do I get it to respect an altered SYSCFG.TXT?

Note for others: you have to REPEAT THE PROCESS to load the syscfg.txt - just having it in the root directory is not enough - it's not just automatically detected and loaded. RFTM ;-) So those steps again:

1) turn it off
2) hold down mode ("M") button and Power button until the red flickers 3 times - (won't take more than 5-10 seconds)

If you then hook it up to a pc the syscfg.txt file should be gone. If it's not then it didn't work.
Click to expand...
As you have found out, creating and setting the parameters is an alternating process.
  • First time = automatically create file
  • Second time = automatically read file, set params and delete file
  • Third time = automatically create file
  • Fourth time = automatically read file, set params and delete file
  • etc.
From the above logic, if you do the button presses twice in a row you won't have a file on your card!!!
Remember, you HAVE to use the same button presses for the configuration to 'take' (Second or Fourth time in the above example).
 
Thank you. I have been scratching my head over why my camera didn't work as I had changed the parameters. RTFM.... Ya gotta love it.
 
Will this process work if I have a Supercapacitor installed instead of the battery? That is, will the supercapacitor hold enough of a charge to write the file and read it back later?
 
I haven't found it works with the supercapacitor in place. You can swap it temporarily for a battery and changed the settings and reinstall the capacitor of course. It's a drag if you forget a setting though, which is easy to do with it going back to default each time, so I would appreciate any other suggestions on a more efficient method.
 
esver said:
Will this process work if I have a Supercapacitor installed instead of the battery? That is, will the supercapacitor hold enough of a charge to write the file and read it back later?
Click to expand...
I haven't found it works with the supercapacitor in place. You can swap it temporarily for a battery and change the settings and reinstall the capacitor of course. It's a drag if you forget a setting though, which is easy to do with it going back to default each time, so I would appreciate any other suggestions on a more efficient method.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top